More

Michael Conrad said he’s always noticed several giant fans-like devices underneath Klyde Warren Park when he drives on Woodall Rodgers Freeway in Dallas. He asked Curious Texas: What are those for?

Vehicles on Woodall Rodgers Freeway pass under Klyde Warren Park where large fans are hung in Dallas, Tuesday, October 16, 2018. Kit Sawers, president of Klyde Warren Park, said the fans help remove carbon dioxide from the tunnel and will help remove smoke if there is ever a fire under the tunnel.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

“I see two rows of these fans” as he drives on the freeway, he said. “Are they for heating up the tunnel to prevent ice, controlling exhaust fumes or something else?”

Curious Texas is a special project from The Dallas Morning News. You ask questions, our journalists find answers.

He said he’s previously enjoyed reading Curious Texas stories and discussing them over his morning coffee. So in our project’s first-ever letter delivered by the U.S. Postal Service, Conrad asked Curious Texas: What are those for?

Conrad, who lives in Oak Cliff, said he’s seen the fan-like machines for years during his commute to work in downtown or when he visits the Dallas Museum of Art and the Meyerson Symphony Center.

“I’ve driven under those things forever,” he said. “I even ask myself what they are when I pass them.”

His question also puzzled some of our reporters, who, like him, have frequently driven underneath the fans but also don’t know what they do.

The 5.2-acre deck park, built atop Woodall Rodgers Freeway, first opened in 2012. The park has been credited with reinvigorating downtown's northern edge and serving as a link to Dallas’ Uptown neighborhood.

mobile-only dfpPosition1

Klyde Warren Park is owned by the City of Dallas, but is privately operated and managed by the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation.

Kit Sawers, the president of the foundation, said those devices are jet fans that have been placed under the park for “life safety reasons.” There are currently 26 jet fans under the park.

Sawers said they have two functions.

Since the area underneath the park is considered a tunnel , there is a risk of carbon monoxide emission buildup inside if there’s a lot of stop-and-go traffic. The fans take care of this issue, she said.

Vehicles on Woodall Rodgers Freeway pass under Klyde Warren Park where large fans are hung in Dallas, Tuesday, October 16, 2018. Kit Sawers, president of Klyde Warren Park, said the fans help remove carbon dioxide from the tunnel and will help remove smoke if there is ever a fire in the tunnel.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

The tunnel also has carbon monoxide sensors, she said.

“Most tunnels have fans in order to clear out smoke and heat,” she said. “The CO sensors, which are down there were not requirements at the time [they were installed], but were added as an additional precaution. But they have become more common now.”

Tony Fay, a spokesman for the park, said they don’t know how many of these sensors are in the tunnel, but there are more than a dozen.

mobile-only dfpPosition2

Sawers said the second, and possibly the main reason for the jet fans, is to help with smoke evacuation.

“In case there is a fire in the tunnel as a result of a car accident or something similar to that,” she said.

We reached out to Conrad after taking his question to Sawers and Fay. He said he assumed the fans may have something to do with the carbon monoxide levels. He now plans to share his newfound knowledge with his friends the next time they drive under the jet fans.

“I thought that might be it,” he said. “It’s great to know what they’re for.”

More from Curious Texas

Tell us

What do you wonder about Texas politics, the Legislature or elections? No question is too big or too small.

Elvia Limón. Elvia Limón has covered Dallas and its surrounding communities for The Dallas Morning News since January 2016. She's also worked as an intern and freelancer for Al Dia, American Way and Surrentum Magazine in Sorrento, Italy. Elvia is from Dallas and has a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Journalism from the University of North Texas.